That's a funny way to put it, isn't it? As if we'd stopped talking about Watergate long ago and the memory of it had gone all fuzzy. W. Mark Felt is 91, and his family thinks he ought to have the experience of hearing what people say when they find out he was the historical mystery man. He says he's not proud of it himself, so maybe he wanted to avoid hearing criticism, but his family seems to have assured him he'd be celebrated and seems to have wanted to share the experience with him.
UPDATE: Anyone else having that Joe-Klein-wrote-"Primary Colors" feeling? The hidden identity was fascinating, the actual identity quite boring.
In the comments: I see I'm being sentimental in assuming the family is motivated by a desire to share a celebratory experience.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Amba finds comparisons to "Jaws" and "The Little Prince."
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Apparently, Felt's children have prevailed upon him to follow his own advise and "follow the money" (right into their pockets).
That makes my post look awfully sentimental!
Or else my comment is shamefully cynical.
I'm going with the financial motive, aka the "shamefully cynical" one.
I dunno...seems kinda anticlimatic, doesn't it?
Not to mention the fact that agents of the FBI are not really supposed to be reporting on the President to the media. And helping to bring on his downfall.
Could you imagine if a rogue FBI agent had done this to a Democrat President how many people on the left would be screaming that our nation had finally become turned into a police state, and that this was an *illegal* coup d'etat.
No wonder he's not proud of himself.
Could you imagine if a rogue FBI agent had done this to a Democrat President how many people on the left would be screaming that our nation had finally become turned into a police state, and that this was an *illegal* coup d'etat.
If it had been a Dem prez, the press would never have attacked the story with such ferocity in the first place, and their hatred for Nixon also stoked the fire. I don't think Nixon was any more corrupt than LBJ, and probably less corrupt than FDR.
Doesn't it fall under the category of Umteen Wrongs Do Not A Right Make?
The likely thing is Woodward and Bernstein will claim that Deep Throat was not just one source, it was consolidated for literary purposes (something recently discussed). So they will still hold the upper hand with those who care, a group dying as fast as possible sources.
It reinforces the notion that agencies such as the CIA and FBI cannot always be trusted by the President even though they are supposed to be providing services to the President.
So what happens if someone in the CIA or FBI has an ideological position that they truly believe is the right thing to do....can we expect civil servents to leak...leak...leak for their own ideological view.
Perhaps Mr. Felt did the right thing. Still, his pension should be cancelled.
Leaking for ideological posterity is no different than leaking for money. Perhaps someone could be prosecuted for selling secrets to the press for ideological profit.
It was always thought before that Deep Throat was from the Administration and that the person was acting out of patriotism to the Republic because they were acting contrary to their own personal interest (blah blah blah) Now that it turns out that Deep Throat was from the FBI......hmmmmm
I'm the guy they used to call Mark Daniels. Now, where's my money?
Hmm. Well look at this.
Felt himself had hopes that he would be the next FBI director, but Nixon instead appointed an administration insider, assistant attorney general L. Patrick Gray, to the post.
Shades of Richard Clarke...
Though it does make you wonder if Bernstein was pissed at Felt's revelation, and so provided a counter-revelation, because it certainly doesn't flatter Felt's position for that to be revealed.
"Woodward's source became such a key part of the discussion among top editors that then-Managing Editor Howard Simons gave him a nickname, "Deep Throat," a blend of the rules of engagement Felt had with Woodward -- "deep background" -- and the title of a notorious pornographic movie.
When the book and then the movie were released, Woodward said, Felt was shocked to have his place in history tagged with such a tawdry title." [www.washingtonpost.com]
Nixon and Clinton -- two presidencies brought down by secret fellation and leaked private phone conversations.
Monica Lewinsky -- ultimately betrayed by her friend, Linda Tripp.
Mark Felt -- betrayed in the end by his own two kids.
How ironic is it that Felt and Nixon were given presidential pardons for (essentially) the same crime?
Good point, stoqboy.
And if a hero can be defined as one who makes a self sacrifice in order to do what is right, who were the true Watergate heroes? Elliot Richardson and William Ruckelshaus. That's it. Everyone else was either lying, snitching, committing crimes or just doing their jobs.
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